It is survived by Sobelair, the charter subcompany, DAT, regional carrier and Sabena Technics, airplane maintenance. At least 5000 jobs are lost directly, with 100,000 possibly affected indirectly. That's about one percent of the Belgian population. Sabena was one of the biggest employers in Belgium. Today is a sad day for Belgium.
According to the joke, SABENA stands for "Such A Bad Experience, Never Again"